Lovely Day
by LemonStar
Summary: ..Daryl/Beth.. "Fifty Four Days" World. "Daryl Dixon-" Beth began to say, but Daryl swiftly leaned in and gave her a kiss on the lips, cutting off whatever words she was going to say next. "We'll be back soon," he gave her a smile and then turned, heading over to meet Eli at the fence.


**Honestly, since I completed _A New Day_ , I have been feeling a little lost and missing it every day. I wrote this just because I had to write something. I am going to work on the next chapter of _Not a Bad Thing_ next. Thank you!**

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…

"You got a clear view of it?" Daryl asked, speaking low, right near his ear.

Eli nodded and didn't speak as he kept the bow fixed on the rabbit a few feet away. They remained still, crouched behind the fallen tree trunk. Eli did his best to keep his arm steady though Daryl could see it shaking just slightly the longer he held the arrow back.

"Where you gonna aim?" Daryl asked.

"Behind his front leg or his eye," Eli answered.

"'s right," Daryl said, but Eli still did not release the arrow.

He kept staring and aiming and Daryl nearly smiled, thinking of his own first hunting lesson and how hesitant he had been to take the first shot; afraid that he would screw up. Of course, if he had, his dad would have slugged him upside the head and he would never even think of doing that to Eli, but the same determination was there nonetheless.

Daryl had worked hard on fashioning an old-fashioned archery bow for his son for his ninth birthday. Nine-years-old already.

It had taken him nearly a month to make it perfect, finding the right wood, carving and molding it, smoothing it. It may have seemed simple, but making a bow was honestly one of the most difficult things he had ever made. Making the arrows had been easier. He found arrowhead rocks, sharpened to a deadly point, and then had used duck feathers for the ends. He had made Eli six arrows and had even found an old leather canister for Eli to wear on his back to keep them in while they hunted.

He would have liked to find him maybe a bow like his, but it wasn't as if Daryl could just go down to the store and get him one.

"Jus' remember," Daryl told him. "You take your time, but not _too_ much time. The animal's jus' aren't gonna sit there all day, waitin' for you to kill 'em."

Eli nodded again and began to close one eye to aim better. He pulled back on the bowstring a bit more and Daryl found himself holding his own breath as the arrow was released, flying through the air, and within seconds, the arrow found its home.

In the side of the rabbit.

Eli gasped as the animal fell, dead, with the arrow protruding from his eye socket. He whipped around to look at Daryl, the boy clearly in shock over what he had done, and Daryl smiled, feeling like letting out a laugh.

"I did it!" Eli gasped quietly again, hardly believing it.

Daryl's smile grew. "Course you did. You're a Dixon."

Eli couldn't contain himself from throwing his arms around Daryl's neck and Daryl did let out a slight laugh then, hugging him back. Daryl squeezed him and kissed his head.

"What do you think? Wanna take it home to clean it up and have mom cook us up somethin'?" Daryl asked, pulling back so he could look at his son.

His son. He wished Merle was here so he would have been able to see Eli's first kill shot. Shooting an animal the size of a rabbit through its eye was a shot even he didn't know if he would be able to do with a bow and arrow. Daryl imagined his brother would be damn proud of his nephew right now just as Daryl was proud.

Eli beamed and nodded his head quickly up and down.

"Go and get your kill," Daryl said and Eli didn't need to be told twice before he was scrambling over the fallen log and running off to get both his rabbit and his arrow.

Daryl stood up as well, his crossbow in his hands, and he was smiling as he watched Eli pick the rabbit up by the hind legs, the arrow still in the eye and if this was still the old world, Daryl thought that this would be how Eli would look if it was Christmas morning.

Hearing a familiar shuffle coming from behind him, Daryl instantly spun towards it. It was still a bit ways away, but he could see it through the trees. Moving at that almost lazy shuffle, the walker made its way through the trees and Daryl knew it hadn't seen him or Eli yet as he was moving in a diagonal line away from them.

Daryl glanced towards Eli and saw that Eli had spotted the walker, too. Daryl put his finger to his lips – not that he thought Eli wouldn't be anything, but quiet – and Eli nodded, his fingers of one hand tightly around the rabbit's legs and his fingers of his other hand tightening around his bow.

Daryl let out a sharp whistle that echoed across the sky and the walker instantly turned towards the sound. And when it saw Daryl through the mass of foliage, it opened its mouth and let out a hungry snarl, but within seconds, Daryl fired his crossbow and the bolt sailed through the leaves to land directly through the walker's eye. It landed with a heavy thud.

Eli went running to go pull the bolt from the walker's head and then ran back to return it to Daryl and Daryl smiled before resting the crossbow down and reloading it.

"Looks like we both got our kills today," Daryl smiled and Eli grinned. "Home?"

"Home," Eli agreed and together, side by side, they started walking through the woods, back in the direction of home.

…

Last night for dinner, Beth had boiled potatoes for dinner and they had eaten those along with cabbage and a mushroom soup. Beth then took a cup and a half of the water she had boiled the potatoes in, added a tablespoon of sugar and stirred in flour until it was stiff. She then covered it and left it overnight in a warm place – the mantel above the fireplace.

It was the easiest way for her to make her own yeast. She oftentimes made – and had long ago perfected – baking breads without yeast – but sometimes, she just wanted a good old-fashioned loaf of white bread and she needed yeast to make it.

Beth sprinkled flour onto the table and then taking the dough from the bowl, she began kneading it and rolling it into the flour. Bee stood next to her, watching her. Anytime Beth baked a loaf of bread, which was nearly every other day, Bee liked to be at her side. At six-years-old, Bee already knew how to knit, loving the skill like her mom, and most nights, Rosita and Bee sat by the fire, knitting something or other, Rosita showing an eager Bee a new technique with her needles as they worked on hats or scarves or socks for everyone. The wool they spun with each shear of their sheep gave them more than enough wool.

But now, Bee had also started showing an interest in the breads Beth baked and Beth was more than happy to show the little girl how to do this as well. She had already been teaching her how to make the jellies and jams that they made each fall for the winter months and though Anna and Matt were both skilled in the kitchen, there was no such thing as too many people knowing their way around the kitchen. Keeping themselves fed with the food supplied in these mountains was one of the most important things a person could know.

"Do you add lavender?" Bee asked.

"Nope," Beth smiled, kneading.

"Do you add honey?" Bee asked.

"Nope," Beth almost laughed and shook her head. "This is just plain old white bread. Want to try kneading for a while?" She then asked and Bee nodded her head immediately, her eyes sparking.

The girl pulled out one of the chairs and then sat up on it on her knees. Beth moved the ball of dough in front of her and for a moment, Beth covered Bee's hands with her own, showing her how to do it, and then slowly, her hands fell away as Bee's continued.

The twins, Jack and Cecily, were also in the kitchen that morning – as they usually were, Beth keeping them close to her for the day. Cecily – for the moment – was curled into a tiny ball, wrapped up in a quilt on the floor beneath the table, taking her late morning nap, and Jack was walking circles around the table, pulling a wooden dog toy with wheels on a rope behind him. When the twins began crawling and walking, Daryl had managed to find baby gates somewhere, and Beth knew that they had probably not be that hard to find since baby supplies wasn't in high demand now as much as it used to be.

There was just too much in the cabin to try and baby proof from them so caging them into one room seemed to be the best – and easiest – course of action.

With the day a bit warm outside, the back door was open and Beth had put the baby gate in the doorway. Jack now toddled to it and stood in front of it, peering over the top into the yard outside. It was quiet. Almost everyone was gone – having left right after breakfast – except for Rosita, who was picking vegetables from their crops that were ready to be picked and filling up baskets. Once Bee was done in here, she would go out to help her. The goats and sheep were outside, too, having been let out of the barn to enjoy the day and graze around the yard and help keep their grass low.

They had all worked hard and had expanded their fence a bit, making more room for more crops. As their family grew, they needed more food to grow and more space. They had also built Matt and Anna their own little home, attached to the barn so Anna could always be close to the animals. It wasn't anything grand. Just a one room home, big enough for a fireplace and bed. Daryl was already thinking of ways he could expand their tree-house because right now, the twins were still sleeping in the crib, but soon enough, they would need their own little beds as well.

"Is that good, Beth?" Bee asked, lifting her hands and straightening up, adjusting the cat-ear headband she wore on her head every day, and during the kneading, it had slipped forward, almost falling off. Flour dust danced in the air and some of it got onto the cat ears. Beth smiled and wiped her hands on her apron before cleaning the flour off the black fabric.

Beth then looked down at the ball of dough and shaped it into a more perfect circle. "It looks good enough to eat," she smiled and dusted a bit more flour on top and Bee smiled proudly. She got the Mulligan family old Dutch oven and carefully put the bread inside. "Could you get the oven door for me, Bee?" She said, putting the lid on firmly.

Bee hopped down from the chair and went to the wood-burning oven, pulling the door down, and then, without having to be told to, she went to the hand pump at the sink and taking a bowl, she pumped it full of water. Beth knelt down and slid the heavy iron pot into the hot oven and then took the bowl of water from Bee and put it on the tray beneath the Dutch oven.

"There," Beth smiled, standing up and closing the door firmly. "Should be ready by lunch."

Cooking with a wood-burning oven took patience and there had been a learning curve to it, for sure. There was no way to keep the temperature steady and it had to constantly be watched, both to add more wood if need be and to check on the food cooking within it.

"Mom!"

Beth lifted her head and Jack gripped the gate and started bouncing on his toes with excitement. Beth hurried to go scoop Jack up in her arms so she could open the gate and she saw the door to the fence open and then Eli came stumbling in, running so fast, he nearly tripped over his feet.

"Mom!" He exclaimed again and he knew he shouldn't shout, but he obviously couldn't help himself. And behind him, at a much more relaxed walk, Daryl was behind him, stepping into the yard and closing the door firmly behind him. "Look!" Eli held up the rabbit and Beth burst into a smile, stepping outside, Bee following her. "I did it! Right in the eye with one of my arrows."

"Oh, Eli," Beth beamed and she honestly felt like she could cry, feeling so proud in that moment.

Daryl came up and without a word, he took Jack from Beth's arms so she could sweep Eli up into a tight hug. She then took the rabbit into her hand and held it up in front of her to look it over.

"It's so big, Eli!" Bee gasped.

"It definitely is. And you got it right through the eye?" Beth asked, smiling down at her oldest son.

"Rosita, come look!" Eli called her over. He then looked back up to Beth. "Right through the eye. Didn't I, dad?" The boy was so excited, it was as if they could feel electricity buzzing off of him.

Daryl smiled. "You sure did." He looked towards the cabin door and saw that Cecily had woken from her nap and had come to the door, her fist rubbing her eye and looking like she was about to start crying. Daryl shifted Jack to one arm and then went to go pick Cecily up in the other.

"Look at that," Rosita smiled, joining them. "That's amazing, Eli."

Eli's smile was so stretched across his face, Beth wouldn't be surprised if it was hurting his cheeks.

"Well," Beth smiled. "You caught dinner, so it's up to you and what you want for dinner tonight."

"Can we roast it on the spit?" Eli asked instantly.

"Of course," Beth said. "You and your dad can clean it up later and I'm baking fresh bread, too."

"Where's everyone else? I want to tell them."

"Down at the pasture, but you have to go with your dad." Beth handed him back the rabbit and Eli hurried into the cabin to put it into the kitchen and Bee hurried in after him.

Cecily stretched her hands out for Beth and Beth took her from Daryl's arms into her own.

"You're being mean to Matt," Beth then said to Daryl, switching topics so swiftly, it took Daryl a full beat for him to realize what was being talked about now.

He then smirked and shrugged. "Spencer, Aaron and me jus' wanna make 'im squirm for a while."

"You're being dicks," Rosita frowned. "He's trying to do this right."

"We know, but they're already livin' together. Not sure why he's so nervous and thinkin' we ain't gonna let 'im ask her," Daryl said, turning his head slightly away as Jack tried to grab fistfuls of his hair. Normally, he didn't mind when the babies grabbed his hair, but for being just a little guy, Jack had already developed the skill of yanking on Daryl's hair and making it _hurt_.

Jack giggled as if they were playing a game and he squirmed in Daryl's arms, trying to grab his hair, and Daryl smiled, still trying to keep his head away from him.

"Put him out of his misery and talk with him today," Beth said – not really giving her husband an order, but it definitely wasn't just a simple suggestion either.

Daryl just smirked. "We'll see," is all he said. Eli came running out of the cabin again, Bee, once again, on his heels, his excitement feeding her own. "Ready to go?" Daryl asked the boy and Eli nodded, stopping to give Beth a quick squeeze around her waist and then running off towards the door in the fence, stopping to wait for Daryl.

Daryl handed Jack off to Rosita and gave him a kiss on his cheek before giving Cecily one, too.

"Daryl Dixon-" Beth began to say, but Daryl swiftly leaned in and gave her a kiss on the lips, cutting off whatever words she was going to say next.

"We'll be back soon," he gave her a smile and then turned, heading over to meet Eli at the fence.

…

They had seen the horse a few times and had been trying to catch him since. The longer the horses were out here though, the more they remembered what they used to be and were completely wild once again. But they were all determined. They needed a horse. The goats could only do so much for them and a horse would make plowing in the spring that much easier.

The four men: Daryl, Spencer, Aaron and Matt, had tracked the horse and had tried their best and finally, on their fourth time of seeing the horse, they were able to get a rope around its neck.

Down the mountain, there was a fenced-in pasture, probably used for horses or cows long ago, and they were trying to break the horse there, having more than enough space to do it.

A week later and they thought they were finally making process, working at it every single day.

Aiden had named the horse Jasper and when Daryl and Eli came down the mountain, towards the pasture, Spencer, Matt, Aaron and Aiden were all on the other side of the fence – Lily, their wolf – at Aiden's side and they were watching as Anna was within the fence with Jasper, guiding the horse in a slow walk in a circle, guiding him with a piece of long rope around his neck.

Eli wanted to shout at them, but he didn't want to distract Anna and startle Jasper and maybe have the horse rear up and hurt Anna, so he ran from the trees and across the cracked road to the men on the other side. Daryl watched as he told them all excitedly about his rabbit and he was met with enthusiastic claps on the backs and grins and Spencer ruffling his hair. Daryl smiled, feeling as if his son's happiness was a little bit contagious, but Eli was proud of himself and the boy damn deserved to be. It had been a hell of a shot.

"How she doin'?" Daryl asked as he came to stand on the other side of Aaron.

Aaron nodded. "Doing good. He seems to really be responding to her."

"Our regular Dr. Doolittle," Spencer grinned.

They were quiet for a few passing minutes, watching Anna as she talked gently to Jasper, telling him that he was doing such a good job, giving him gentle clicks of her tongue.

Daryl leaned forward a bit to see Matt standing on the other side of Spencer. He had been wanting to talk with them for a few days now – and they all knew about what. He wanted to marry Anna. Daryl, Aaron and Spencer were honestly surprised that it had taken him this long to approach them about the subject. They were also surprised that he wanted to talk to them at all. They had just been expecting the guy to put a ring on Anna's finger and that would be that.

He knew he really didn't need to discuss it with Aaron and Spencer beforehand. He knew they were all in agreement on the matter.

"So, are you gonna marry her or what?" Daryl asked and Matt's head spun around so quick to look at him, Daryl surprised he didn't hear it crack.

"What?" Spencer was the one to frown. "I thought we were going to torture him a bit longer."

"Aiden," Anna called the boy over in a gentle voice and Aiden looked to Spencer for permission and Spencer gave him a nod.

Aiden slipped in between the slots of the fence and entered the pasture. Anna reached into the pocket of her hooded sweatshirt and produced an apple, holding it out for Aiden to take. They all watched, nearly holding their breath, as Anna gently pulled on the rope, bringing Jasper to a slow stop, and then Aiden approached the horse, holding the apple out in his hand. Jasper eyed the apple before a moment before taking a step forward and eating it from Aiden's hand.

"Good boy," Anna rubbed a hand down Jasper's neck as she slowly untied the rope. "Go on. Run a bit," she then said and once Jasper was finished with the apple and nudged Aiden's hand to make sure he didn't have another, the horse turned and galloped away.

Matt stepped back from the fence, turning towards them. "Are you serious?"

"You better marry her, or we'll kill you," Aaron shrugged casually though Matt didn't think for a second that he was actually joking. Aaron may have been the quietest of the three men, but Matt had learned that being the quietest sometimes made a person the most dangerous.

Eli let out a gasp. "We can eat the rabbit tonight to celebrate!" He suggested and Daryl smiled at that, giving his head a nod of approval.

"That sounds perfect," Daryl agreed, keeping his eyes on Matt. "You have a ring to give her?"

"Yes," Matt answered immediately.

"So, give it to her already," Spencer said, sounding as if the entire thing was exhausting to him.

Matt kept staring at Daryl as Daryl kept staring at him.

"Thank you," Matt said. Daryl didn't say anything; just gave him the slightest incline of his head.

"If you two have a son, she's going to name him Mulligan," Aaron said. "Be prepared for that."

…

Matt was sitting on the bed in his and Anna's small room, waiting for her to get back from washing off in the creek, trying to think of how he was going to do this. He had thought of little else for the past couple of weeks, but now, that he has everyone's permission, he found that he was a little lost.

He missed Carrie. If his sister was here, she could help him pick out the perfect words for him to say to Anna. But then, if Carrie _was_ here, that would probably mean that everything else wouldn't be as it was now and he wouldn't even know Anna existed, let alone have himself ready to propose. He wasn't even able to imagine anything anymore without Anna being at his side.

The door opened and Anna stepped into their room, her hair damp and wavy, and she smiled at him once she saw him and closed the door behind her. He stood up to add another log onto the fire and Anna went to the chest at the foot of their bed where they kept their clothes and belongings. It was a small room and besides the bed, the chest and fireplace, the only other thing was a small nightstand table – which Matt went to now, opening the drawer. It had amazed him that Anna hadn't found the ring yet, but he had hid it inside of the little leather bag where he kept pictures of his family and he knew Anna wasn't the type to go snooping.

When he turned towards her, she had finished tugging on a fresh sweatshirt – a sweatshirt Daryl and Rosita had found for her when she was still a little girl. It was a ridiculous sweatshirt with a picture of a piñata and "I'd hit that" printed beneath it, but it was one of Anna's favorites and Matt admitted that it always amused him when she wore it.

She gave him a smile and then taking her comb, she sat down on the floor in front of the fire, working on the tangles in her hair. Matt exhaled a deep breath and then came to sit down next to her. He had no idea what to say and that was new – and weird – for him, because even when they had just met – and she was showing him how to make a soup in the opening of that coalmine, he hadn't had a problem talking with her.

He cleared his throat and Anna lifted her eyes to look at him, giving him a smile. She paused in combing to put a hand to his beard-covered jaw.

"Are you alright?" She asked. "You're either constipated or you're thinking really hard and you know Beth has a tea for either," she teased him with a smile that lit her eyes.

Matt let out a puff of laughter and then shook his head slightly. "Such a smart-ass," he said.

"That's how I was raised," she reminded him, still smiling.

Matt took a deep breath and then slowly took her hand down from his jaw. Without a word, he slid the diamond ring onto her left third finger and he looked at it for a moment. It fit pretty well. If it didn't, he would have gone out and tried to find another.

When he lifted his eyes, he saw that Anna was smiling at him.

"I was wondering when you were going to give that to me," she said.

Matt looked at her for a moment before he shook his head, not really surprised in the least that she already knew about it. "You're too…" He trailed off, struggling to come up with the right word.

"Awesome? Brilliant?" Anna offered.

Matt just shook his head though. "You're too _everything_ ," he decided in a quiet tone.

Anna smiled at him and didn't say anything to that.

Taking her left hand, she curled it around the back of his neck and pulled him forward. He practically fell against her lips and felt as she sighed happily against his.

…

In celebration – both of Eli's first kill and Anna and Matt's marriage – they roasted the rabbit and Beth made a mulberry sauce to have over it as well as goat cheese to have with the white bread and they made sure to tell Eli, more than once, that it was the best rabbit they had ever had.

"Can we go hunting again tomorrow, dad?" Eli asked as the meal was winding down.

"Course we can," Daryl readily agreed, standing up to carry a few of the dishes to the sink and then picking up Cecily as she followed aft him, almost making him trip. "Tomorrow's another day and we need to eat tomorrow, too."

"When do you think Jasper will be tamed?" Aiden asked Anna.

"I think we should try and saddle him tomorrow," Anna said. "I remember Mulligan said that you try to get a saddle on a horse you're breaking, but don't try to get into that saddle until a few days after. None of us need to break our necks."

"Are you going to have a baby now?" Bee asked with a smile from across the table.

Anna and Matt looked to one another, and then Anna looked back to Bee with a smile.

"Maybe someday," she said.

"No," Spencer spoke up. "No babies. It's one thing to know you're not a virgin anymore. It's another thing to actually _see_ it."

"Spencer, shut up," Aaron said with a faint smirk, shaking his head, picking up his glass of water.

"What's a virgin?" Aiden asked with a confused furrow of his brow.

Rosita instantly gave Spencer a look, but he just grinned at her.

"You love me," he informed her. And after a moment, it was obvious that Rosita was trying to keep herself from smiling at him.

At the sink, Daryl had set Cecily down on the counter next to him, and keeping one hand on her belly to keep her from falling, his other hand moved the pump up and down, spurting water into the sink over the dirty dishes. He felt slim, familiar arms wrap around his waist and he smiled a little to himself, looking over his shoulder to see Beth standing up on her toes behind him.

"What are you doin'?" He asked.

Beth just smiled and shook her head. She kissed the back of his neck, not caring that they definitely weren't alone in the kitchen, and Daryl didn't seem to mind either, his eyes closing and covering one of her hands with his, he gave it a squeeze.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading the randomness and please take a moment to review!  
**

 **Also, I have begun a pinterest board for this universe: www. pinterest templeton21/ blue-ridge**


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